Automatic high-low pressure cutoff



Jan. 19, 1965 G. D. HALL AUTOMATIC HIGH-LOW PRESSURE CUTOFF 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed NOV. 8, 1963 Nb m1, m, v/

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United StatesPatent 3,166,092 AU'I'QMATlC mGH-LW PRESSURE Cil'iiili George D. Hah, Houston, Tex., assigner to Thornhill? Craver Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation ot Texas Filed Nov. 8, i963, Ser. No. 322,376 4 Gaines. (Qi. 137-458) This invention relates to automatic valves, and more particularly toautomatic shutoff valves for pipelines.

Y lt is customary with petroleum pipelines to take a pressure reduction iu the pipeline adjacent the well head. In the event of a line breakage or flow of iiuid through the motor system when the system Y i 'positioned to set thefuid motor for automatic operahydrate buildup, it is desifable'to, have a safety control t valve in theV line upstream ofthe point of pressure reduction to close the line adjacent the Well head.V A control valve for this service is shown inthe patent to Y' body 12 by. a nut 21. The adapter 19' has abo're 22` Thornhill, No. 3,049,140. This invention is an improvement in valves of the type shown in this ri`hornhill patent.

This valve utilizes an oriiice in a conduit between the motor control system and the line downstream of the point of pressure reduction. When the valve-isV in manual open position, pressure fluid flows through the valvecontrol system and this oriiice from the valve body to the line downstream of the pressure reduction. As this flow is through the small orifice referred to, there is a danger of trash clogging theV orifice and thepossibility of freezing or building up of hydrates at the oriice to stop 'dow therethrough. These problems are not Vparticularly acute when the vvalve is in the manual open position for only a short time, but when -it is in the manual tion, or it Amay be positioned to either open or close the main valve.

which is secured through ari adapter'19 to the main valve therethrough which vestablishes communication between the interior of thermain valve and the interior ofthe motor, housing i6. Anoperating stem 23 extends through the bore 22 and connects the main valve 15 with the fluid motor operator indicated generally at 24. Suitable Vseal means Zi seal` between the valve stem and adapter 19;

VThe fluid motor operator includes first and second nid Y chambers or cylinders 25 and 26. The chamber 25 has' a movable wall dened byv piston 27. In like manner,

the chamber 26 has a movable'wall detinedby piston 28.

, These two pistons are connected to eachother and are open position for protracted length of time, some difficulty may be encountered. This problem could be overcome by placing aV manual shutoff valve in the system which would shut ot this llow after the valve had been placed in manual open position. I-loweventhis gives rise'to the possibility that the operator may forget to open such an auxiliary valve when placing the system on automatic operation. If such an auxiliaryV valve remained closed, this would destroy the automatic operation or" the system.

It is an object of this Vinvention to improve valvesY of the type shown in the Thornhill Vpatent by reducing the amount of gas which iiows through the valve 'control system when the valve is in manual open position without impairing the normal operation of the system.

' Another Objectis to reduce the amount of gas flowing through valves, as in the preceding object, wherein the reduction is accomplished automatically and there, are no externally controlled vflves which might inadvertently be left `in the wrong position to. impair automatic operation of the system.

Another object is to improve valves of the Thornhill type by rreducing the possibility of trouble at the oriice in the conduit leading to the lineV downstream of the pressure reduction Vby Way of trash accumulating at the orihce or cutting out the orice due to abrasion, or by way of hydrate formation or freezing at this point.

@ther objects, features and advantages ofV this invention will be apparent from the drawings, specification andclaims;

In the drawings, wherein an illustrative emlwdimentv of this invention is shown, and wherein like numerals y indicate like parts: v

FGURB 1 is aview partly in elevation and partly in' connected to the valve stem 23 so that'the two Vpistons and valve member move together. Y

The first chamber 25 is exposed to'upstream pressure by: a suitable conduit connecting the chamber with the V Y valve body passageway 13.V Preferably,`this'conduitis provided `by a passageway 29 which begins at 31 in the Vvalve stem and extends through the valve stem and pistons 27 and 28 to the free end of pistonl 27.

The chamber 26 is supplied with pressure from a point downstream of restriction ll'through line 32. A suitable restriction 33 is provided at'the opening of line 32 into chamber 26. Y f Y It will be noted that the piston 28 is provided with spaced seals 34 and 3S which straddle opening 33 when the main valve is closed. This'prevents leakage of pressure from the mainline when the main valve is closed.

able wall` or piston 28 of the second chamber. Thus, the upstream pressureexerted on piston 27 maybe much greater than the downstream pressure exerted on piston Z with vthe valve in open position. .Y According to pressure conditions existing in the installation, the Vsize of stituting a s1eevei27a of the desired outside diameter.V

A suitable seal between the piston body 27 and the sleeve 27a may be provided by the 0-ring 27b.

From the valve as thus farexplaineiit will be apparent that with a predetermined pressure condition fthe valve member will remain open. Upon a break occurring in the downstream line, the pressure within chamber 2o will fall, while the pressure within chamberZS will remain Y high. Thiswill result Yin an unbalance of forces and the in'cross-section of a segment of the valve of FIGURE l motor operated piston 24 the main valve.

willrmove downwardly toV seat 0n the other hand, if the pressure iri the downstream line increases to an excessively high value, it is onlynecy essary to have this increased pressure operate a popoi valve to vent chamber i216 and also close the main valve.

etarras aan. is, rees t The iiuid-V motor includes a iiuid motor housing 18 y lt will be noted that the size of the movable wall ory piston 27 of the first chambertis smaller than the -movfj Provision for venting the chamber 26 upon excessive downstream pressure is provided by passageway 37 which communicates with the chamber 26 -at a positionlwhich is always below the seal 35. This passageway leads to secured to 4the upper end of the motor housing 18. fIhe housings are secured together by a suitable nut 42, and

close thatY there is little-or no bleed through the seat when the cylindrical section is within the seat. For con-y venience of ymanufacture and assembly, the needle valve an O-ringseal 43 seals between the housing 41 andthe j cylinder 36. Y

The pilot housing has a'bore therethrough indicated generally at 46, and a 'valve member indicated generally. at 47 is mounted for reciprocation within said bore.

- A rst opening -is provided intojsaid bore 'at 4S forv conducting liuid pressure from the rst chamber 25 to Athe bore. A second opening 49' is provided for conductf ing fluid pressure from thesecondchamber 26 through Y line 38 to the,V bore. A third opening 51 is providedland establishes communication between the bore and the relief means 39. A fourth opening 52 is provided in the bore for extension to the exterior of the pilot valve housing to provide' a vent.V It will be noted that the-rst, second, third and fourth openings are arranged .in numerical order and that suitable seals are provided between the several openings for selectively sealing between the valve-member 47 and the bore. These seals include a seal 53 on the valve member, for sealing-Vbetween'the irst and second openings, a seal on the valve body at 54 for sealing between the second yand third openings, and a seal 55 in thevalve body for sealing between the'third and fourth openings. The bore through the'body includes inserts 46a, 46b and 46c.

The upper end of the slide valve 47 is provided with a threaded extension 47a which isthreadedly engaged by a nut 56 rotatably mounted on the body. The hand wheel 57 is non-rotatably mounted on the nut. Rotation of the hand wheel rotates nut 56 to raise or lower the valve member as the valve member is held against rotation by the co-action of aV guide 58 in the pilot valve housing extending into a` vertical slot 59Y in the valve member. l p

It will be noted that the valve member 47 has three at portions, one of which is shown at 47b immediately above the sliding seal V53. YA1so,'an increased diameter` section 47e is provided above the Hat portion 47b. This increased diameter portion 47e cooperates with seals 54 and 55 to control opening and `closing of the third and fourth openings. Y Y l Y A check valve 61 is designed'to prevent any possibility of leakage of iluid is closed. The chamber or seat 62 which is cylindrical and establishes communication between the high pressure chamber and the bore 47 through the control valve( and, when the control valve is in manual open'position, communication is also established past the check valve 61 ,to the rst inlet 49l and the conduit 38. 'i Y Coopera-ble with seat 62 to controlow of uid from the chamber 25 into -the pilot valve is av valve means,

'.While this valve means might be one whichestablishes from the cylinder 25Y while the valve cylinder 25 is provided with a'rvalve is secured in the sleeve 27aV by a snap ring 64 and has a passageway 65 therethrough to provide forzfree flow of fluid from the passageway 29 into the high pressure chamber 25. Y Y

- In operation, the hand wheel may be rotated to move the valve member 47 downwardly until the portion 47C of the pilot valve member engages seal 54 which will isolate the third and fourth openings to the relief member 39 and the vent. Continued downward movement of the valve member will move seal 53 into an enlarged diameter portion 46d of the bore. ,This willpermit uid to ow from the chamber 25 to the chamber 26 as the check valve 61 will be engaged by the lower end of the slide t valve 47 and unseated at approximately vthe same time that'seal 53 becomes ineffective. This is the manual open position of the control valve. Until the time that the Vcheck valve 61 is unseated, 'chamber 25 is filled with upstream pressure from the passageway through the main valve. Also, chamber 26s filled with downstream pressure from line 32. Whenv the lcheck valveV is unseated,

' pressure in chamber 26 increases due to being backed up by restriction 33. It results that the forces become such that the main valve moves toward open position. As the main valve begins to reach full open position, the needle v valve 63 moves into seat'62 and begins to choke off flow of fluid from chamber 25. The valve may seek several times and .then come to rest at anequilibrium position in which just suicient uid is lost from chamber 25 to raise the pressure in chamber 26 to a value which will maintain the main valvemember in open position. It

' will be appreciated that the pressure in chamber 26 will now be less than would be the case if the valve 63 were .not employed` Without the needle valve 63, the chamber 26V will Vreflect full upstream pressure. Withthe needle valve 63, this pressure will be much lower and only enoughpres'sure will bleed through the needle valve Y to maintain the main valve open. It results that the amount of fluid which passes through the valve in the manual open position is reduced and this permits the strainer 66 to more effectively strain out any trash. As the velocityY of the gas through the restriction 33 is decreased, the tendency to freeze and form hydrates is reduced.

at this point, there will result a decrease in pressure in chamber 26 which will cause the needle valve to move toward closed position and permit the needle-valve to clear itself.

YA` further advantage of the use of the valve 63 is that it protects the frangible member in the relief valve 39.

control valve upwardly, the seal 53 seals olf the chamber 25, but as the valve member moves up O'ring 54 is un- .covered to throw the frangibledisc in uid communiapc'omplete seal, it is preferred that the valve means be provided bythe needle valve 63 which throttles ow ofl base ja'cylindricalsection 63a which has a close'sliding fit with the seat 62. This ,sliding tit may-be varied from Ya close4 to a loose tit, Vto thus select'the maximum degree` of'restriction. If desired,r the `fit may be suciently 'Itfwill-benoted that the needlekvalve includes at itsV cation with the line 38. If excess pressureis present in Vline 38'at this time, the frangible disc may rupture.` For this reason, the'nut 56 has a Yrelatively. slow thread so that operation of the hand wheel will; liftthe slide valve slowly and permit the'pressure inv the chamber 26 to 4dissipate ybefore the seal l54 is uncovered. Bygusing `needle valve 63, the pressure present in chamber 26l when the control valve-is moved -fromopen to automatic position, has beenv reduced to a valve belowthe'xfull upstream pressure, and thus a lesser amount of fluid need be dissipated from chamber 26 to protect the frangibleV Vrelief means If the spread is such that the frangible If any trash-becomes lodged between seat 62 and needle valve 63, or if hydrates or freezing occurs It will be 'notedY disc can withstand the pressure in chamber 26 at this time, then the slide valve could be rapidly moved to automatic position.

It will be appreciated that in automatic position the chamber is isolated and chamber 26 is in communication with the frangible disc. Thus, an increase in downstream pressure will be retiected against the frangible disc, and if such increase be present the disc will rupture, venting chamber 26 and resulting in the main valve closing. On the other hand, if the downstream pressure drops to a sufficient value to reduce the pressure in chamber 26, the main valve will close. f

When it is desired to manually close the valve, the control valve is retracted to uncover seal 55 which estab,- lishes communication between the chamber 26 and the vent 52 to vent chamber Z6 and effect closing of the valve.

For a discussion of other features ot the valve illustrated, reference is made to Thornhill Patent No. 3,049,140.

From the above, it will be seen that all of the objects of this invention have been accomplished. While the simple form of valve and seat 62 and 63 is preferred, it will be appreciated that any other arrangement might be substituted so long as the escape of fluid from chamber 25 is regulated by movement of the main valve member.

It will be appreciated that any form of valve could be substituted for the control valve so long as the valve is manually opened by utilizing high pressure from the chamber 25. See, for instance, the type of valves suggested by Thornhill Patent N o. 2,684,688.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit ot the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pressure control apparatus comprising,

a main valve having a passageway therethrough adapted to be connected in a line on the-high pressure side of a choke,

a valve member and valve seat controlling iiow through said passageway, means for moving the main valve member between open and closed positions including iirst and second variable volume chambers having opposerL movable walls connected to each other and to the valve member,

said wall of the first chamber having a larger area than said wall of the second chamber,

means for establishing iluid communication between said second chamber and said passageway,

means for establishing iluid communication between said rst chamber and said line downstream of said choke including an orice,

conduit means connecting said first and second chambers,

control valve means controlling iiow through said conduit means,

and a valve seat in said second chamber and a valve member connected to said wall of said second chamber controlling flow from said second chamber into said conduit means. 2. A pressure control apparatus comprising, a main valve having a passageway therethrough adapted to be connected in a line on the high pressure side of a choke,

a valve member and valve seat controlling iiow through said passageway, l

a housing connected to the main valve and h-aving a pair of axially aligned cylinders of diierent diameter,

a pair of pistons connected to each other and reciprocal in said cylinders,

a valve stem connecting said valve member to said pair of pistons,

a passageway extending through said valve stern and pair of pistons to establish fluid communication between the body passageway and the smaller cylinder,

a conduit Vestablishing communication between the large cylinder and said line on the low pressure side of said choke,

a restriction in said conduit,

a second conduit providing iiuid communication between said tirst and second cylinders,

control valve controlling flow through said second conduit,

and a valve seat in said smaller cylinder and a valve member carried by the iston therein controlling ow from the smaller cylinder into the second circuit.

3. A pressure control apparatus comprising,

a main valve having a passageway therethrough adapted toV be connected in a line on the high pressure side or" a choke, Y Y

a valve member andvalve seat controlling flow through said passageway, Y

means for moving the main valve member between open and closed positions including iirst and second variable volume chambers having opposed movable walls connected to each other and to the valve member,

said wall of the iirst chamber having a larger area than said wall of the second chamber, l

means for establishing iiuid communication between said second chamber and said passageway,

means for establishingy iluid communication between said first chamber and said line downstream of said choke including an oriiice, Y

conduit means connecting said rst and second chambers,

control valve means controlling iiow through said conduit means,

and a valve seat in said second chamber and a needle valve member connected to said wall of said second chamber controlling flow from said second chamber into said conduit means.

4. A pressure control apparatus comprising,

a main valve having a passageway therethrough adapted to be connected in aline on the high pressure side of a choke,

a valve member and valve seat controlling flow through said passageway,

a housing connected to the main Vvalve and having a pair of axially aligned cylinders of different diameter,

a pair of pistons connected to each other and reciprocal l in said cylinders,

a valve system connecting said valve member to said pair of pistons,

a passageway extending through said valve stem and pair of pistons to establish iluid communication between the body passageway and the smaller cylinder,

a conduit establishing communication between the larger cylinder and said line on the low pressure side of said choke,

a restriction in said conduit,

a second conduit providing iluid communication between said lirst and second cylinders, Y control valve means controlling iiow through said second conduit,

and a valve seat in said smaller cylinder and a needle valve member carried by the piston therein controlling ilow from the smaller cylinder into the second conduit.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A PRESSURE CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING, A MAIN VALVE HAVING A PASSAGEWAY THERETHROUGH ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED IN A LINE ON THE HIGH PRESSURE SIDE OF A CHOKE, A VALVE MEMBER AND VALVE SEAT CONTROLLING FLOW THROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAY, MEANS FOR MOVING THE MAIN VALVE MEMBER BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS INCLUDING FIRST AND SECOND VARIABLE VOLUME CHAMBERS HAVING OPPOSED MOVABLE WALLS CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE VALVE MEMBER, SAID WALL OF THE FIRST CHAMBER HAVING A LARGER AREA THAN SAID WALL OF THE SECOND CHAMBER, MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID SECOND CHAMBER AND SAID PASSAGEWAY, MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID FIRST CHAMBER AND SAID LINE DOWNSTREAM OF SAID CHOKE INCLUDING AN ORIFICE, CONDUIT MEANS CONNECTING SAID FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS, CONTROL VALVE MEANS CONTROLLING FLOW THROUGH SAID CONDUIT MEANS, AND A VALVE SEAT IN SAID SECOND CHAMBER AND A VALVE MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID WALL OF SAID SECOND CHAMBER CONTROLLING FLOW FROM SAID SECOND CHAMBER INTO SAID CONDUIT MEANS. 